Monday, November 6, 2023

Monster Draw Game!

This writing game is a favorite of my students!  It's a fantastic lesson in on-demand and descriptive writing.  I teach my students that their job is to create the perfect picture in their readers' minds of exactly what they want them to see.  If a writer misses ONE adjective, the picture is altered!

Here is how this game is played:

Step #1: Draw a monster.

Step #2: Write about your monster with vivid and descriptive language.  Size, shape, color, number!  These types of adjectives were our theme of the day.

Step #3: Trade papers with a partner, and try to draw each other's monster with zero talking!  The only assistance I offered was if someone's handwriting was a little challenging to read.  Othewrise, the students were on their own with reading and drawing their partner's twin monster!

These usually have a few that turn out hilariously different, but of course, the closest ones (voted on by the class) make the blog.  Check these out!


Ian's Monster (4th grade)

        My monster is a mix of a dinosaur, dragon, and a little squirrel, too!  It is a shape or a body of a T-rex.  Its wings are like a bendy rectangle shape.  It has six spikes, and it also has a squirrel tail that's blue.  One of the wings are yellow and has striped patterns.  The other wing is half red and half green.  It has 24 spikes on its body.  Its legs are wide apart.  Its whole body is purple, except the spikes are red.  Also the hands are small and black and they make claws.  It has a shark-like head with sharp teeth, and its eyes are round with a pupil.

Ian got instant feedback on the importance of directional words like "right and left" when he saw that Vivian (3rd grade) drew his monster facing the opposite way.  However, the rest of the details are there, and the class voted theirs the winners!



Jojo's Monster (4th grade)

        My monster is really cool.  He has a circular turqoise head.  He has two big white and black eyes on his head.  He also has a cute smile.  On top of his head, he has two fat red antennae.  On the top of the antennae, there is a circular shape with another black and white eye.

        He has two yellow arms with paws, an dfour claws.  He has a blue body with a circle of green.  He has a striped silver fat white tail.

        He has two magenta legs and two striped blue feet.  I hope you can picture my monster!

Jojo wrote so carefully with all those color adjectives that her partner, an awesome 6th grade reader Adeline, was able to produce this!


Cho's Monster (6th grade)

        My monster has a wolf's head, upper body, and front legs.  He also has a horse's back legs, body, and tail.  He has a wolf's nose and mouth, pointed ears, one having a pink inside. There is a scar running through his eye.  My monster is facing your right.  He is rearing, his front legs bent, one of them behind the other.  His wolf part of the body is gray.  Eyes, nose, and mouth are black.  His scar is red.  His horse's side is just a horse's two legs with a tail.  The wavy tail is magenta.  The legs are gradient of dark purple, to dark blue, to light blue.  There is no background.  Realistic, not cartoonish.  It takes up half the page, and is right in the middle.

Cho nailed the size, shape, color, number, and direction adjectives, so Laila (5th grade) could produce this!

Congratulations to our Fall 2023 winners!






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